


Until We Meet Again

by Hiver_Frost_Elf



Series: STAR Blazers [5]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Adoption, Coma, Deutsch | German, Dialogue Heavy, Emotions, Family, Fruit Salad Hair Gel, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Magic, Microwaved Plastic, Not Yo Mama's Custody Battle, Penguins, Plush Menagerie, STAR Labs, Self-Doubt, Seliiiiiiiiinaaaaaa!!!, Speed Force, TINA'S KICKASS TRUCK, Team Tech Support, Thunderstorms, glow-in-the-dark stars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-12
Updated: 2016-12-13
Packaged: 2018-09-07 19:54:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8814163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hiver_Frost_Elf/pseuds/Hiver_Frost_Elf
Summary: Dr. Wells’ gaze zoomed in on two little thieves who thought they could swipe Project Blitz without his knowledge.  He smirked.  The taller one scooted in front of his partner.As if Hartley Rathaway ever amounted to anything in any timeline.“I won’t let you hurt him again!” cried a voice only Dr. Wells heard. “Run, Solnishko, run!”Solnishko wouldn’t budge.





	1. Plot

**Author's Note:**

> Newcomers, welcome! Please read chapter one of all previous instalments before reading this one.
> 
> Oldcomers, welcome back! Since you've stuck around this long, hopefully, this means no amount of weirdness can phase you.... Just warning you now, UWMA sets a new bar for bizarre in STAR Blazers.

Conifers warily encircled what remained of the Freezer of Solitude.  Assorted shades of green replaced typical beagle colors as Beast Boy sniffed along pebble-crusted dirt and dust sparkling with minerals.  Befuddled, he tilted his head off to the side and reported back to his leader, “I smell… microwaved plastic?  I got nuthin’; sorry, boss.”

“ **That’s alright, Beast Boy, der Mann in Gelb’s trail has probably been untraceable for a while now,** ” Robin’s fruit salad hair gel warred against the stench of ashes.

Cyborg generated gopher holes with each step.  He shook his head at the readings the scanner in his arm was receiving, “None of these elements have been discovered yet, but they all have one thing in common: they’re denser than anything that has been discovered yet.”

“ **That makes sense,** ” spiky Nightwing collected some soil samples.  Strictly speaking, they probably didn’t need voice modulators, but one never knew what dangers awaited unprepared prey. “ **Solnishko says dense materials are harder to phase through.** ”

Starfire hovered with her legs curled slightly inward and her red-orange hair drifting in the breeze, “What is the phasing?”

“ **He can move fast enough to run between atoms, at least when he’s not too cold,** ” Nightwing explained. “ **Last year, the temperature rose high enough for him to phase out of the cabin, but der Mann in Gelb found him.** "

Raven floated over to the group.  She winced.  The phantoms of this land gave her a migraine, “I sense two emotions here: envy of another’s effortless talent after spending a lifetime building up the same skill… and despair when someone you can do nothing to help is about to die.”

“ **Envy must belong to der Mann in Gelb.  He has no lightning; apparently, that means he’s a slow speedster....** ” Nightwing held her chin in her hand. “ **That kind of despair doesn’t fit Solnishko, yet he never said anybody else was with him in the cabin.** ”

Raven stared worriedly at Nightwing, then closed her eyes, “I sense only two emotions yet the signatures of three souls,” Raven lifted her gaze to Starfire, whom gravity reclaimed.  Starfire couldn’t truly fly as it was because joy fueled her flights, and there was no joy to be found here.  Robin looked up at Starfire and clasped her hand: a wordless reminder that Solnishko wasn’t here anymore.  The shadows underneath Raven’s hood darkened when she finally continued, “One soul felt no emotion because there was no point in doing so.”

Batman hopped out from the highest branch of the tallest tree and rolled noiselessly behind Nightwing after quadruple-checking for surveillance systems.  The breeze wasn’t strong enough to pull his cape.  Batman stared at his brother.  Robin’s eyebrows frowned.  Batman would often hesitate to share his thoughts when he believed they would upset others.  Society taught him that people would rather be complimented with a lie than insulted with the truth.  Then Thomas and Martha Wayne died, and he didn’t say much of anything for a year.

“ **....Doctor Harrison Wells has taken a day off on June 20 th for the past 13 years, doubled Cisco Ramon Allen’s salary the day Mr. Allen debuted a trio of weaponry which includes the one weapon which can kill Solnishko, and left STAR Labs early that day after allegedly securing that trio himself,**” Batman looked past the group in the direction of Central City. “ **Doctor Christina McGee reported of him following Doctor Tess Morgan’s death, ‘Harrison has become a different person.’** ”

“ **Bats, Dr. Wells is a humanitarian and a scientist,** ” Robin folded his green-gloved arms uncertainly.

“Nightwing is your friendly neighborhood, 700% normal college student/bartender Shawna Baez!” the beagle’s tail flapped against the dirt.  The Teen Titans knew they’d boarded the train to Crazy Town when Beast Boy became the voice of reason.

“ **He doesn’t even fit the physical profile of Solnishko’s captor!** ” argued Robin.

Raven mulled it over, “Der Mann in Gelb brought back materials we know nothing about; perhaps he brought back unknown technology as well.”

Cyborg was onboard with the Harrison Wells = der Mann in Gelb theory, but future tech gave him doubts, “Technology that can trap someone inside their own body and swap between two bodies???”

“My tomes include spells that can do that,” Raven scoffed before turning to Batman. “Depending on how far in the future he’s from, Solnishko’s captor likely has access to something that can simulate their effects.”

Batman unleashed his coup de grâce, “ **Monitored or not, why would Solnishko’s captor ever let him practice using his powers?** ”

“ **....Someone wanted him to escape,** ” Nightwing blanched as she dialed Solnishko’s number.  He didn’t answer.  Panic laced her Kevlar-armored fingers when she dialed Len and received no answer.

They charged through an onyx portal even before Robin thundered, “ **Teen Titans, go!!!** ”

Bushes concealed Len as he waited for his brother-in-law to emerge from a side exit of STAR Labs.  His tightening grip could’ve crushed his binoculars.  He was amidst imagining nightmare scenarios when Shawna presented the ultimate one via text; she’d hacked his phone to send it!

_Baez: PULL SOLNISHKO OUT RIGHT NOW KEEP HIM AWAY FROM DOCTOR WELLS_

Len lowered his goggles, powered up the cold gun, ditched his binoculars, and bolted into the building.  People he didn’t care about were rushing past him without a second glance.  An evacuation siren whined over the intercom.  And because a thrumming aura of doom wasn’t bad enough, a thunderstorm kicked up by the time Len met up with Mick, who was in full firefighter gear and his own goggles.

Caitlin and Cisco had beaten them to Hartley and the Allens’ lab.  Hartley himself was cradling an unresponsive Solnishko, who’d donned Project Blitz: teal [Nextel](https://www.inverse.com/article/15547-what-kind-of-fabric-keeps-the-flash-from-burning-up), bulletproof thanks to Raven’s enchantments.  Lightning winged his ears, boots, and adorned a defibrillator built into his chest.  Afterwards, Doctor Wells had appeared from a shadowy corner with a grin creeping across his face.  A voice only Solnishko heard crackled, “ **Run, Solnishko, run!!!** ”

Solnishko wouldn’t abandon Hartley despite the latter’s protests.  Doctor Wells snatched Solnishko’s forearm and slapped his watch onto the boy.  They both collapsed onto the stainless floor.

Doctor Wells lay lifelessly nearby.  Hartley’s glasses skidded down his nose and cupped his tears.  He looked up at the group and wailed, “It’s the watch!!!  I tried to remove it, but it activated the particle accelerator instead!”

Robin organized Team Tech Support as soon they arrived, “ **Hartley, Cy, Bats, and Nightwing! We gotta shut this down!** ” Hartley whimpered and reluctantly parted from his Lilo.  Robin looked up and winced at Len.

“You know how to lead, kid, so lead.”

Beast Boy’s ears perked up.  He swiveled and shifted into an owl, a bat, and a moth to locate a certain sound.  He became an ostrich and hollered at Batman, “Catwoman’s here!”

Batman turned on the spot.  Kevlar boots pounded against metal before he vaulted onto Beast Boy, “ **Seliiiiiiiiinaaaaaa!!!** ”

Biker jacketed Lisa finally deigned to appear with her gold gun at the ready.  Her spruce-blue eyes swelled at an ostrich charging through the halls, “We lost Batman! Fantastic!”

Mick and Len had just finished setting Solnishko on a gurney.  Alarm widened Raven’s indigo eyes as she floated by Solnishko’s side, “There are already too many souls in here as it is, but I can’t save him myself!  The only power I’ll have is the power he assigns me, and he’s only ever heard about me through Batman.”

“Oh so he’s doomed then!?” Cisco voiced his and Caitlin’s justifiable terror at der Mann in Gelb taking over their Brüderchen’s body.

“Not necessarily,” Raven grasped one last ditch hope.  She looked up at lab-coated Caitlin, “He couldn’t remember his name, yet he remembered you singing to him.” And then she faced Mick, “He trusted you instantly—maybe not to treat him well, but at least to treat him better than der Mann in Gelb ever did.” She urged both of them to take her hand.  She placed her other hand over Solnishko’s heart, “Azarath Metrion Zinthos!”

The trio became palm-sized orbs and entered Solnishko’s soulscape.  Len and Lisa took off to evacuate stragglers.  _Star Wars_ -teed Cisco wheeled his Brüderchen out then looked behind him and saw Starfire wheeling out Doctor Wells.  Cisco was too stunned and too stressed to ask why.

“Len named your brother Solnishko,” she explained as a multitude of technicians parted upon their approach, “but this man is the reason his name means ‘sunshine’.”

Quicksand carpeting, fizzling stars, and plushies bleeding stuffing greeted Raven, Caitlin, and Mick.  It instantly reminded the latter two of Solnishko’s bedroom, which made sense to Raven as it was Solnishko’s sanctuary.  The stars above steadily ceased glowing.  They followed the constellations, doubling their efforts when they heard a girl scream.

Der Mann in Gelb laughed like a giant at a vivisected Lilo.  Stitch lay heaving a few feet away, cobalt lightning glimmering within in his bug-like eyes.  The blonde monster looked up from his handiwork and scoffed at these last minute rebels.  Der Mann in Gelb turned around and vibrated his hands, more than ready to murder again.  Raven tensed.  All they had to defend them was the heat gun.

“Bad move,” Mick folded his arms and scoffed back, holstering his weapon.  Raven’s tension rocketed, praying her ignorance of Solnishko’s psyche meant she was missing something. “You can’t have a Lilo without a Stitch or Lilo will get lonely.”

“And you can’t have a Stitch without a Lilo or Stich’ll obliterate everything!” Caitlin scorned him vengefully as cobalt lightning wreathed Stitch’s body.

Stitch’s floppy ears perked upwards as he leapt forth and sounded der Mann in Gelb’s doom, “[ Meega nala kweesta ](http://stitchdatabase.wikia.com/wiki/Tantalog_language)!!!”

The time-traveling specter stood his ground and plunged his fist towards Stitch’s chest.  Stitch caught it, chomped it, and bounced off it to race around him.  Der Mann in Gelb perished in a cobalt cauldron with a warbling wail.

Stitch snorted before blindly tackling Raven.  Mick did his best to pull him off while Caitlin sang the first verse of [ her and Solnishko’s song ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz-zQBvTbiU).  It half-repaired Lilo.  Mick tossed Stitch as far as he could and sang his song to Lilo.  Iris and Len helped him modify the lyrics from the original version.

_You are my sunshine, my favorite sunshine._

_When you’re around, Cub, no skies are gray._

_If someone asks you how I can love you,_

_run to me, I’ll hug you all day._

Stitch had barreled back to Raven by the time Lilo fully repaired.  He abruptly ceased snarling and plunked onto the floor when Lilo leaned forward and fisted her hands at her sides, “Stitch!!! Sit!”

“....Sorry,” Stitch mumbled in Raven’s direction as he retracted his quills and extra limbs.

Raven dusted herself off after Mick helped her up.  Caitlin asked Lilo where Solnishko was.  Lilo tilted her head off to the side in confusion as she looked up at Caitlin.  Raven explained, “Technically, everything in here is Solnishko.  Ask Lilo where that raccoon plushie is—I can’t remember its name.”

“Lilo, where’s #FAR Junior?” Caitlin stooped closer to eyelevel with Lilo.

Lilo’s arms swished beside her as she smiled, “He’s with Vati! C’mon!”

Lilo pulled Caitlin along while Stitch rolled beside her.  Lilo’s leafy anklets and bracelets flapped excitedly.  Mick and Caitlin couldn’t be any more befuddled.  Raven informed them of Batman’s findings along the way.

A blazing, horse-dwarfing wolf barred their path.  Summer snarled at them until Lilo assured him, “Der Mann in Gelb’s gone; Stitch obliterated him!”

Summer’s flames receded into his sunny fur, which was no longer hackled.  His muzzle closed.  His ears returned to a neutral position.  Raven warily eyed up at him, “If a soul dies outside its host, it can never be recovered.”

“We gotta fix the rest of the Plush Menagerie,” Lilo told the group as she and Stitch scampered onto Summer’s back.  Her shoulder-sheathing hair flopped behind her as Summer trotted off, “Go on in! Tschüss!”

A bed as humongous as a fortress loomed before them.  Mick held up the bed skirt for the ladies.  Delving found black-haired Harrison and #FAR Junior near where pillows would be located.  Harrison exhaled his relief, stood up from huddling #FAR Junior protectively against his chest, and spoke to Caitlin and Mick, “I’m so sorry I couldn’t do more for him.”

“You did your best, Doctor Wells,” Caitlin assured him.  #FAR Junior clung to Harrison’s neck like an infant clings to their caregiver.

“Please, call me Harrison,” his voice caressed everyone’s ears.  He nuzzled #FAR Junior’s nose with his nose before setting him down.  #FAR Junior clenched Harrison’s ash-slacked leg and whimpered.

Harrison knelt down, embraced #FAR Junior once again, and quivered with his eyes glued shut with tears, “We need to leave so you can wake up.  Once you do, rescue Miss Kyle and run straight back to us; the password is Flashpoint.  I know your father’s too busy to meet you, but I will never be too busy for you, Sternchern.”

He squeezed #FAR Junior’s paw four times; the latter returned the gesture.  Harrison then wearily drifted over to the other three and took Raven’s hand.  #FAR Junior sniffled as a crucible of shadows consumed them.  Raven, Mick, and Caitlin became physical entities again.  Der Mann in Gelb’s watch cracked after Raven transferred Harrison’s soul back to his body.  Harrison woke up gasping as if he’d been underwater all this time.

“You’re free at last!” Starfire cheered as she and Cisco continued carting through STAR Labs.  They were less than a minute from the nearest exit.

“I can’t feel my legs,” Harrison reported with the amount of concern someone assigns to a paper cut.

Raven winced, fearing this might happen, “Another controlled your body for so long that it no longer fully recognizes your commands.  If there were any way to bring you to Azarath, my mother might be able to heal you, but my sire cut off access to my dimension.”

“It’s alright, Raven, I don’t need my legs.  Frankly, it’s refreshing to control myself at all.”

Cisco’s ensuing stammers translated roughly to “WTF!?!”

Caitlin summarized Raven’s summary of Batman’s findings.  Harrison welled with tears upon recollection of Solnishko’s last few months in the Freezer of Solitude, “The day he disappeared was the best day of my life after my wedding....  If he stayed a moment longer, he would’ve died.”

 _By a weapon I built_ Cisco miraculously trudged out of the building.  Solnishko sparked to life.  His eyelashes fluttered too fast to see before he groggily swung off the gurney and raced to Catwoman’s cell.

Batman furiously pounded passwords on a keypad next to an unbreakable bubble.  His other hand was on the glass lookalike separating him from Selina, who had her hands on his.  He’d long since ordered Beast Boy to flee, “ **I won’t leave without my Stitch!!!** ”

The two sides couldn’t hear each other, yet Selina felt the building spasm around her and urged Batman to save himself.  Having seen him again, she was at peace.  He vanished in a bolt from the blue.

“ **Seli—** ” Batman’s screech cut off when Selina appeared at his side, frazzled locks and all, “ **na.** ”

They blinked at each other incredulously.  He snatched up his beloved and hauled her away from STAR Labs as fast as he could, “ **Bats, I can run by myself!** ”

“ **I know you can, but I don’t care; I never want to part from you again!** ” Batman whimpered.  His cape flurried behind him like a king’s robe.

Team Tech Support exited—kitten Beast Boy clinging to Cyborg’s shoulder—having done all they could to delay destiny.  The particle accelerator exploded in the original timeline.  Der Mann in Gelb amplified each and every mistake in this one.

Everybody within a mile of STAR Labs was now behind a barricade of cruisers and ambulances.  Captain Singh, Joe, and Eddie along with the rest of CCPD and nothing less than an army of EMTs stood by.  The particle accelerator blossomed and spewed a nation’s worth of energy across Central City.

Garnet lightning and golden lightning bolted off in the distance.  Tunic-enthusiast Iris collapsed into the couch.  Nora called 911 while silvering Henry discovered Iris’s skyrocketing pulse.  Calls from all over Central crushed respondents.  Iris’s eyes sizzled yellow and her pupils dilated.

Henry zeroed in on his efforts to stabilize Iris.  Red bolted into the room and formed a humanoid husk.  It addressed Nora and caught the phone she dropped as her mouth unhinged, “ **Mrs. Allen, I chose my first host poorly.  You’ll never hurt Solnishko, so please, will you consent to become my new host?  I cannot pick Harrison because his legs no longer function, and Batman will not part from Selina.  You’ll gain speed and healing like his and—** ”

“My superpower is unconditional love,” Nora halted Red, then flared her hand at her husband, “Henry has vowed to never do harm, and if he ever breaks that vow, he will let you leave immediately.”

A casket of lightning possessed no face with which to emote, yet Nora sensed its reluctance, “ **He hasn’t even met Solnishko yet.** ”

“I know he hasn’t,” Nora sighed. “You keep Henry for as long as you need to be sure he will uphold his vow.”

“ **....That may be just as well,** ” Red conceded as it padded over to Henry. “ **There’s someone they want you to meet.  Bring Iris and Doctor Allen to STAR Labs; he knows how to care for speedsters undergoing metamorphosis.** ”

Red plunged into Henry’s chest.  He collapsed next to Iris with his limbs askew.  Nora arrived around the same time her parents-in-law and nephews did.

Linda, Lisa, Cisco, Caitlin, Hartley, Solnishko, Batman, Selina, Mark, and Clyde flooded beside Iris.  Joe and Eddie were still on duty.  Chaos would keep them on duty for hours.  Eddie and Joe didn’t know Yellow had struck Iris.

Yellow took control of Iris to hug Solnishko.  It sobbed over his shoulder, “ **I missed you so much!!!  We all tried to help you as soon as der Mann in Gelb altered the timeline to hunt you, but Blue was the only one strong enough to reach you before the particle accelerator exploded.  It wouldn’t be fair to kick Blue out now, so I chose Iris this time because she never stopped looking for you.  I hope you never go missing again, but if you do, Iris and I won’t stop running until we find you!** ”

“But I was a terrible hero last time,” Solnishko sniffled as he parted from Yellow. “Lenny hated me, and I hurt Pied Piper.”

Cue another round of “I’m a fuckup in every timeline” for Cisco.  Caitlin and Lisa rubbed his back, hugged him, and assured him otherwise.  After today’s adrenaline soar-and-crash and emotional bedlam, Cisco understandably didn’t believe them at this moment.

Yellow shook her heartbroken head, “ **That monster manipulated everything he showed you from the original timeline.  Yes, Lenny shot you, but then he rushed you to STAR Labs as soon as he discovered you were Joe’s nephew.  Yes, you blindly followed your hermano’s ideas of how to deal with Pied Piper, but then you and Cisco realized those ideas were wrong.** ”

“Wanna know what Pied Piper said to Flash?” nothing but holographic newspapers passed Selina’s time in the Pipeline.  One of them headlined homophobes ganging up on Pied Piper before he vanished in a golden blur.  Flash, Cisco, Caitlin, and Detective Iris West watched over him in STAR Labs’ medical wing even after he healed. “‘I’m not religious, but you plead a good case for the existence of angels because you’ve convinced me I’m not the demon my parents say I am.’”

 _I knew it_ Hartley mouthed as he, Batman, and Yellow embraced Solnishko.  The rest of the gang hugged him when the first party finished.  Yellow returned Iris to her cot and resumed readying her for life as a speedster.

Solnishko sought out Harrison, zipping up to him and pecking his forehead when he spotted him.  Harrison smiled and clasped Solnishko’s hand, “Sternchen, will you please meet with Red Lightning?” Solnishko backed into the nearest wall, collapsed against it, and hastened his breathing.  Harrison wheeled over, thumbed Solnishko’s cheek, and assured him, “Red fought our captor every step of the way, and by the time you were ten, it left.  It couldn’t bring us because humans cannot enter the Speed Force.” Solnishko quirked up at him curiously. “The Speed Force is where the Lightnings live.  Red returned and helped Orange and Green select souls who would never hurt you and would run to aid you if anybody ever did.”

Solnishko tentatively accepted Harrison’s hand.  The latter helped the former onto his feet.  Solnishko’s eyes bulged upon sight of Henry hosting Red.

Red quivered, “ **I’m so sorry.  If I was stronger, I would’ve resisted him better.  If I wasn’t so impulsive, I wouldn’t have picked him at all!** ”

Solnishko grounded Henry’s shoulders.  He looked into Red’s borrowed eyes, “You’re not weak; you’re Éponine from Les Mis.  You two got out of a bad situation on your own.  I’m just Cosette; we needed a Valjean to rescue us, but I’ll become Éponine one day!”

It was Red and Harrison’s turn for their eyes to bulge.  Red clasped Solnishko’s arms, “ **I hope you’re never in a bad situation ever again, but you will always have a Valjean because Blue will always be with you.** ”

Solnishko exhaled uncertainly, “Blue told me to run....  That was the first thing it said after all this time.”

“ **Blue doesn’t know what to say,** ” Red rubbed Solnishko’s shoulder, “ **but know that Blue, Green, Orange, Yellow, and I love you with all of our soul.** ”

“What about Purple Lightning???”

“ **Purple’s kinda like a Megazord.  We merge if there’s a threat so great, Purple’s the only one fast enough to thwart it,** ” Red sat back on Henry’s cot. “ **Since we’re on the subject of Orange and Green, would you mind if they and their buddies join your ‘ohana?  Two of their families are dead, one might as well be dead, and one is dying.** ”

Solnishko chirped, “You tell Orange and Green we’ll adopt all of their buddies!”

Later on, Batman urgently fell beside his brother from the ceiling, “ **Jason! We need to repair everybody’s homes by Father’s Day because Solnishko says Red Lightning says Orange Lightning and Green Lightning are coming!** ”

With the exasperation only an older sibling can sport, Jason Grayson opened his hands palms out, “Bats! What does that even mean!?!”

“ **....I am unsure,** ” Batman blinked, “ **but it’s important to Solnishko, therefore, it’s important to me!  I have another project in progress; I shall assist you when I’ve completed it.** ”

Skinny-jeaned and white-jacketed Jason slumped back in his metal-accented seat as his brother wandered off.  He ran his ungloved hands through his hedgehog hair and wondered how dating an alien had become one of the normal aspects of his life.

“Do it, Jason!” Selina pickpocketed his communicator.  She was both relieved and disappointed that her favorite hoodie still fit her after all these years.  She used to be taller than both Jason and Batman, yet now they towered over her. So not fair! “That asshole took me to keep Batman and Solnishko from becoming friends; everything they do for each other is another thing that tells him, ‘Fuck you!’”

Jason surrendered, took back his communicator, and called Len, “Sir? I have no clue why and neither does my brother, but we need to put a rush order on repairs, so will you please inform everybody that when a bunch of penguins show up, to just let them do their thing?  I’ll also post a warning on Crookbook.”

Len grunted, “I will, and thanks; this frees up my crew to make safehouse #4 habitable.”

Nobody would ever suspect Leonard Snart of purchasing a wheelchair-friendly mansion in the mountains!  Especially since he did so under the alias Leonidas l’Hiver.  The best thing about Central is that it didn’t deal with cockamamie cuckoo crap like Gotham did, so CCPD didn’t watch for such shenanigans.  Safehouse #4 was far enough out of the way that it sustained no damage when the particle accelerator exploded, yet none of the Snart-Rorys had utilized it years.  Herds of dust bunnies dominated it.  Light trickled through dots and swatches of filth on its windows.  Its walls were easels of flaking paint.

Len made a pit stop at Home Depot to purchase a package of glow-in-the-dark stars after he reallocated his resources.  Heaven knew Mark and Clyde were an impulse away from poking penguins cuz YOLO!!!

Mick was a grouch the entire way.  Good thing there was nobody else on the road because when Mick Rory road-raged....

“Solnishko’s not moving out right away, Sparky,” Len reached out to Mick’s shoulder. “And you know he’ll visit; he’s sunshine, and sunshine....”

“....Always comes back tomorrow no matter how long it’s gone,” Mick grumbled.  He wasn’t a happy camper, and he never would be—or so he vowed.  Mick was a burnt marshmallow: cracked and crusty on the outside, such a softie on the inside.  Deep down in his mushy heart, he knew Harrison deserved his son as much as Solnishko deserved his window.

Solnishko tugged Nora impatiently enough to dislodge her shoulder.  Nora chuckled.  Her flats clomped against metallic hallways.  Harrison looked up from _How to Care for Solnishko Rory_ when he heard him patter into his reclaimed office.  Excavated family photographs and an in-use-at-last skylight made it feel cozy.

“Vati, Mutti; Mutti, Vati!  He’s a window; windows let you see sunshine!” Solnishko chirped at realization-dawned Nora. “Vati hacked the environmental controls on the cabin.  He gave me my first memory of something soft, warm, and soothing.” He exhaled at the floor, then looked back up at her, “I’m sorry I don’t call Doctor Allen Vati, but it doesn’t make sense for me to call him Vati cuz I haven’t even met him yet.  First he was too busy working, now he’s too busy sleeping; but Vati says he’ll never be too busy for me!”

Nora gazed from tearful Harrison to their beaming child.  She flicked her currant-colored hair behind her ear, cupped Solnishko’s cheek, and requested a moment alone with Harrison.  Solnishko pecked her forehead and toddled off to hang out with the twins.  Nora clasped the widower’s hands, “Would you adopt him if you could?”

“In a heartbeat,” Harrison didn’t hesitate to answer, “and I’d only regret stealing him from you.”

Nora happily became acquainted with someone who filled Henry’s vacancy, “You wouldn’t be stealing him from me, Harrison, and you most certainly wouldn’t be stealing him from Henry; as far I’m concerned, he’s yours.”

“ **According to this paperwork, you and Doctor Morgan did adopt him!** ” Batman hopped from the ceiling and handed a batpad over to Harrison.  He’d been assembling this ever since he first suspected der Mann in Gelb was holding Harrison hostage.  Batman operated under the assumption that since Solnishko became liberated, so would Harrison. “ **All you need to decide is whether you two named him Solnishko Rory Morgan-Wells or Solnishko Rory Wells-Morgan.** ”

Harrison ached with joy.  He braced his quaking mouth with his off hand.  Nora slung her arm across his shoulder.  He and Tess flipped a coin when they conceived of their company.  If it landed heads, they’d name it TESS Labs and their child would take his name first.  It landed tails… on this Earth.

Moving day arrived swiftly… as did most everything else with two speedsters and two teleporters running around, or in one teleporter’s case, floating.  Iris invited herself because 1) she was the only person who hadn’t met Harrison yet and 2) she was the only person who hadn’t seen safehouse #4 yet.  Harrison had already survived Mark and Clyde’s inquisition.  Iris couldn’t possibly invent a question more difficult than theirs.

She folded her arms and smirked, “Name every single member of the Plush Menagerie.”

Eddie’s jaw dropped after he choked.  He still couldn’t do it, and he’d been dating Iris for months.  Harrison hadn’t even been free for a single month!

Light slanted through the atrium and obscured Harrison’s glasses.  Iris barked a laugh when he delayed to answer.  Eddie’s haul seemed to gain ten pounds.  He empathized with the middle-aged man.

Contemplation stitched Harrison’s pale lips together as he wheeled over to adjust the last photograph depicting him and his wife: Tess pulling him into their wedding kiss because his sweat-fried brain fled the building after exchanging “I do”s.  It neighbored the first photograph depicting him and his son: together at Rooster Road’s chickens crossing sign.  The photos were arranged so that Solnishko stood between Tess and present-day Harrison.

He cocked a smirk of his own when he finally answered, “#FAR Junior, Marco, Claudio, Leah da Vinci, Leia da Vinci, Sally Dalí, Robbie the Therapy Plushie, Detective Pawne, Captain Songh, Professor Collin, Collissa, Noire, Detective Joey, Vinnie van Gogh, Summer, Jessie, Jerrie, Molly, Doctor Garrick, Ronald Mallard, Peek-a-Boo, Zvezda, and Zvezdo.”

Eddie fainted.  Iris speed-checked his vitals before flopping him onto the sofa.  It had wide, vanilla cushions.  She declared Harrison fit for Solnishko and returned to speed-unpacking.

A granola blonde lady exited her truck—she refused to enter a vehicle she could dwarf—and found an auburn-haired stranger splayed across the sloping lawn like a snow angel.  The stranger popped up like a gopher and zipped into her face.  His head snapped as if it belonged to a bird.  He took a step back.

“Good morning,” she greeted him.  Awkwardness and 11:30 chilled them. “Who are you?”

“....My name is Solnishko Rory Morgan-Wells.”

Her mouth remained shut, yet she internally gaped at his answer.  As far as she knew, her stepsister and brother-in-law had never sired a child....

“Vati didn’t contribute to my DNA, but he’d love me no less if he did,” Solnishko continued, “and if there were any way to ask her, Vati says that’s what Mom would say, too.”

Tina softened.  She didn’t care what slightly illegal DNA testing said, the imposter who stole the name Harrison Wells was _not_ her brother-in-law!  She drove up here today to ascertain if this new creature was.

“Vati was there for me even though I wish he wasn’t.  He knows all my triggers because he was there when they became triggers.  He named all my new stars, he calls me the name I prefer to be called, and he’s okay with me liking stuff outside my demographic’s typical interests.  He’s been there for me more than my actual Vater has, and that’s why I call him Vati,” Solnishko teared up and sniffled.  She hugged him.  Her eyes also dampened.  Eventually, they parted long enough for him to ask, “What should I call you?”

She grinned, “You should call me Aunt Tina....  Your Vati is right.  If Tess and Harrison bred someone who possessed a mere fraction of your kindness, they’d have done alright.”

Solnishko beamed like his namesake, “Oh wow! Come on in, Aunt Tina!  Vati’s been kinda nervous about seeing you again since basically forever; let’s go!  I don’t have any aunts except you, but I have an uncle; he’s a detective!”

“From your Vater’s family?” skepticism frosted her inquiry.

“My Vater hasn’t met me yet, but everybody else has, and they love me unconditionally!  And I love them unconditionally, too!” Solnishko squeezed Tina’s hand four times before swinging the door open. “Vati! Aunt Tina’s here to see us!”

Harrison looked up from across the atrium with surprise.  How did his sister-in-law find this place???  He internally shrugged; this was a question for another time.

Tina stormed towards him hissing, “Harrison Bentley Wells, you’ve always been a PROcrastinator, but how dare you delay introducing me to my nephew!” She hoisted him into a hug, “It’s great to see you—the real you—again.” Harrison wholeheartedly agreed.

Iris exited stage left with Eddie slung over her shoulders in a fireman’s carry.  Solnishko referenced the Plush Menagerie during lunch.  Harrison chuckled through a sip of his drink when Tina asked about it.  Within minutes, plushies conquered the coffee table in front of the fireplace.

“This is Peek-a-Boo,” Solnishko held up a boho-chic one. “Elephants are really really really really really smart animals; Peek-a-Boo’s a really really really really really smart elephant cuz Grammy taught her everything school can’t teach you, and Peek-a-Boo’s gonna be an EMT when she grows up!  She can teleport now, too!”

“Oh wow,” Tina inhaled, both impressed and horrified.  Her anchor gray eyes flickered over to Harrison.

He flickered his river stone eyes back _They all have names, and they all have personalities; some of them are even in relationships._

_Where’s your wine?  I need alcohol._

_And how do you plan on driving home afterwards, Tina?_

_Don’t be dumb, Harrison, I engineered a self-driving truck for a reason._

_Because you wanted to prove you could indeed invent a solar battery which could power such behemoths, and when folks began speculating on self-driving capabilities, you finagled that feature into it and slapped on a “TINA’S KICKASS TRUCK” bumper sticker._

_You know me so well.  Where’s your wine???_

Harrison sighed and shook his head, “In the cabinet next to the refrigerator.”

Solnishko obliviously resumed introducing each and every plushie when she returned.  He intermittently tossed one into Harrison or Tina’s lap.  Tina neither desired nor attempted to escape until after the trio viewed _Lilo & Stitch_.  The plasma screen was mounted above the fireplace.  Solnishko snuggled into Harrison, who nestled in between the other two.  Tina took a shot every time someone said “mosquito”.

She left sober enough to do so under her own power, slurring a medley of Elvis and botched Hawaiian along the way.  She locked herself out of the controls on her vehicle.

Later, father and son hugged each other goodnight.  Harrison soon sensed crazed eyes upon him and opened his to spot his son quivering beside his bed.  Harrison invited him into his embrace.  A nightmare prodded Solnishko awake, “You and Mick and Cait and Raven died instead of der Mann in Gelb.  He took over my body and murdered our ‘ohana.”

Harrison gulped.  Every time he closed his eyes, he revisited der Mann in Gelb hurting his son.  All he could do during those years was watch, and sometimes, he wasn’t even strong enough to do that much; guilt didn’t care that nobody was strong enough to watch somebody they cherish suffer for almost a decade and a half.  He held his son tighter.

“I haven’t gotten much sleep lately either, Sternchen,” Harrison admitted. “What did you mean when you told Red that you wanted to become Éponine?” Harrison’s gut nose-dived.  Like any true parent, Harrison knew exactly what his child meant, yet he needed to hear it from him.

“I wanna fight crime like I did in the original timeline,” Solnishko explained.  Determination skewed towards vengeance as he continued. “Der Mann in Gelb spent fourteen years telling me he’d become a better hero than me, and now I can take away everything he wanted without him being able to do a thing about it!  I’m the fastest, meaning I can help the most.”

“....Would you tell someone who’s seven feet tall to become a basketball player?”

“No,” Solnishko slumped into Harrison’s arms. “But someone who’s over seven feet tall would be a better basketball player than someone who’s only six feet tall.”

“You already are a better hero than him, Sternchen,” they locked tear-swamped gazes. “You enfold orphans into your ‘ohana; that is one of the most heroic things you can do.  There are other ways you can help out, and those ways are just as valid as fighting crime yourself.  I hope you never fight another supervillain again, because the one you did was enough for eternity.”

“ **And if a supervillain ever picks a fight with you, I will keep you safe,** ” cobalt flickered within Solnishko’s eyes.

“Blue???” Solnishko and Harrison gasped.

“ **It’s not that we don’t think you could fight crime if you had to, there’s simply no reason for you to.  Your ‘ohana is larger and stronger than an army, and armies need noncombatants, too.  We love you.  We don’t want you running into danger after so many years of seeing you drowning in it....  I am so sorry I couldn’t free either of you, but I was tired all the time just keeping Solnishko alive.** ”

“You did your best, Blue, that’s all you can ask of yourself,” Harrison thumbed Solnishko’s cheek.

“Ditto, Blue,” said Solnishko.  His head rolled up toward Harrison’s.

They sat in amiable silence.  Harrison’s chest became Solnishko’s pillow.  Harrison pecked his forehead, readjusted his black-striped blanket, and patted the lampshade to switch the light off.  He sunk them into a lying position, keeping Solnishko cradled all the while.  The clock read 11:45, 15 minutes before Father’s Day.

The End!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for taking time to read this, folks :3 enjoy what you do here and everywhere! Happy whatever holiday(s) you celebrate! See ya!


	2. Commentary

Okay, so this instalment of STAR Blazers ended up being a lot shorter than I thought it’d be.  Nevertheless, UWMA is over 6000 words of weirdness and me crying.  I don’t even have the excuse of writing this after a rough day at work like I did for BaBW.  My first instinct is to call myself a moron, but Batman would Gibbs-slap me if I did that because in his own words, “ **Crying is nothing to be ashamed of; it means you care.** ”

 

Before I continue, HAPPY WHATEVER HOLIDAY(S) YOU CELEBRATE!!! *cue confetti*

 

“Run, Solnishko, run” is inspired by “Run, Barry, run”, said at various points throughout the show.

“Until we meet again” is from [_Aloha Oe_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WraKfeFtOPs), which is featured in _Lilo & Stitch_.  Seriously, folks, if you haven’t at least GLIMPSED at _Lilo & Stitch_ yet, you are missing out.

Conceptualizing this fic led me to the conclusion that der Mann in Gelb is no match for Solnishko physically.  Thawne has no lightning, Solnishko has Blue Lightning, and as Solnishko says later on, Blue Lightning makes him the fastest.  If der Mann in Gelb pursued the monumentally stupid decision to fight Solnishko in the physical realm, he’d run the risk of Len shooting him with the cold gun and Batman and the Teen Titans and the rest of the crew ganging up on him.  He’s outnumbered and outmatched; his best strategy is to take advantage of the years his abuse has imprinted on Solnishko’s mind and destroy his soul.  His goal is to become a better hero than Flash, and the way he came up with to accomplish that is to ensure there is no Flash to compare him to.

 

_Conifers warily encircled what remained of the Freezer of Solitude.  Assorted shades of green replaced typical beagle colors as Beast Boy sniffed along pebble-crusted dirt and dust sparkling with minerals.  Befuddled, he tilted his head off to the side and reported back to his leader, “I smell… microwaved plastic?  I got nuthin’; sorry, boss.”_

_“ **That’s alright, Beast Boy, der Mann in Gelb’s trail has probably been untraceable for a while now,** ” Robin’s fruit salad hair gel warred against the stench of ashes._

I really wanted this location to feel graveyard-esque—as if even nature itself considers it an abomination—so that when “the phantoms of this land gave [Raven] a migraine”, it doesn’t read like a cheesy line; we all feel that migraine along with her.

_I sense two emotions here: envy of another’s effortless talent after spending a lifetime building up the same skill… and despair when someone you can do nothing to help is about to die._

Harrison has had little set up so far, so I needed to go the extra mile here because this is his debut, and he needs to prove to everyone both in and out of universe without a shadow of a doubt how much he cares about Solnishko.  You don’t watch somebody grow up suffering without scrambling to do something—anything—to help him.  Thawne kept a tight leash on Harrison—especially after Harrison hijacked Thawne as a last-ditch effort to save Solnishko before Cisco completed the cold gun—yet Harrison did his best, and his best got him two concessions: 1) Thawne never hurt Solnishko in Harrison’s body and 2) one day, Solnishko’s birthday, in control as long as Harrison and Solnishko didn’t leave the cabin.  Thawne only gave Harrison Solnishko’s 18th birthday because Harrison pleaded for Thawne to give Solnishko one last pain free day.  Harrison fully expected Thawne to murder Solnishko on sight as soon as Cisco debuted the cold gun, which Thawne fully expected to do.  Harrison expected Thawne to find Solnishko again, yet as hours, days, and weeks passed without a trace, Harrison and Thawne realized Solnishko was finally free.

Then Thawne discovered Solnishko’s sketch in 5+1 and ambushed Solnishko stealing Project Blitz.  I had no clue what I was gonna do for the summary until I envisioned Harrison’s reaction to Thawne keeping his promise from 5+1.  The sad part is, Solnishko couldn’t hear Harrison, and objectively, Harrison knew that.  Granted, Solnishko heard Blue, yet he stayed anyway.

_“ **....Doctor Harrison Wells has taken a day off on June 20 th for the past 13 years, doubled Cisco Ramon Allen’s salary the day Mr. Allen debuted a trio of weaponry which includes the one weapon which can kill Solnishko, and left STAR Labs early that day after allegedly securing that trio himself,**” Batman looked past the group in the direction of Central City. “ **Doctor Christina McGee reported of him following Doctor Tess Morgan’s death, ‘Harrison has become a different person.’** ”_

If anybody could figure this out, it’d be the goddamn Batman.  I had this scene in mind for a while, but then I wrote 5+1 and realized Batman looking for Selina would give him extra motivation to uncover der Mann in Gelb’s identity.

 

_“ **Bats, Dr. Wells is a humanitarian and a scientist,** ” Robin folded his green-gloved arms uncertainly._

Somebody needs to play the skeptic, otherwise Batman just sounds like a lunatic and everybody else sounds like a lunatic for going along with anything he says for the hell of it.

 

_“Nightwing is your friendly neighborhood, 700% normal college student/bartender Shawna Baez!”_

I was originally gonna have BB say something along the lines of “Batman and Robin are billionaire philanthropists Bruce Wayne and Jason Grayson”, then I realized that would be what everyone expects him to say.  Plus, I’d never get to use the phrase “700% normal” for Batman or Jason.  If there’s anybody who’d roll with Batman's absurd-yet-unfortunately-true theory, it’d be Beast Boy.  Search your heart, you know this to be true!

 

_“My tomes include spells that can do that,” Raven scoffed before turning to Batman. “Depending on how far in the future he’s from, Solnishko’s captor likely has access to something that can simulate their effects.”_

Raven’s attitude is “technology tends to catch up to sorcery eventually”, which is why she’s on board with this.  Plus, no tech or magic can replicate a soul, so she knows somebody else was there with der Mann in Gelb and Solnishko.  Bulletproofing Project Blitz only took her as long as it takes to get in, say “Azarath Metreon Zinthos”, and get out.  Der Mann in Gelb was in a board meeting at the time, so she didn’t encounter him during her visit.

 

_Batman unleashed his coup de grâce, **“Monitored or not, why would Solnishko’s captor ever let him practice using his powers?”**_

**_“....Someone wanted him to escape,”_ **

This answers WLYSS’s age-old question for me as much as it answers it for readers.  Why would Thawne run the risk of Solnishko escaping his grasp? Thawne didn’t, that’s why.

 

_a thrumming aura of doom_

*snicker*

 

_a thunderstorm kicked up_

This is the Lightnings raring to help Solnishko ASAP.

 

 _Project Blitz: teal_ _[Nex](https://www.inverse.com/article/15547-what-kind-of-fabric-keeps-the-flash-from-burning-up)[tel](https://www.nasa.gov/missions/science/spinoff9_nextel_f.html) _ _, bulletproof thanks to Raven’s enchantments.  Lightning winged his ears, boots, and adorned a defibrillator built into his chest._

Nextel is what BaBW’s 5 minutes of research led me to.  It was so so so so so tempting to replace the “reinforced tripolymer” on the Flash suit with material that actually exists, but I figured I should compromise with myself and reinforced tripolymer enthusiasts: make the old suit the fictional material and the new suit a legitimate material.

Yes, Raven bulletproofs basically every cloth anybody she knows wears.  It’s never something we see her do in _Teen Titans_ , but c’mon, she wanders around vigilanteing in a leotard and a cloak.  Raven has enough common sense to realize how hazardous that is and enough tomes to contain SOMETHING that can protect her in a fight.

 

_Afterwards, Doctor Wells had appeared from a shadowy corner with a grin creeping across his face.  A voice only Solnishko heard crackled, “ **Run, Solnishko, run!!!** ”_

_Solnishko wouldn’t abandon Hartley despite the latter’s protests.  Doctor Wells snatched Solnishko’s forearm and slapped his watch onto the boy.  They both collapsed onto the stainless floor._

This was all added later.  Originally, it cut from the description to the suit to Hartley cradling Solnishko, then it occurred to me how choppy that transition was and I should clarify where the watch came from.

 

_Hartley’s glasses skidded down his nose and cupped his tears._

As someone who wears glasses, I <3 this description.

 

_Kevlar boots pounded against metal before he vaulted onto Beast Boy, “ **Seliiiiiiiiinaaaaaa!!!** ”_

_Biker jacketed Lisa finally deigned to appear with her gold gun at the ready.  Her spruce-blue eyes swelled at an ostrich charging through the halls, “We lost Batman! Fantastic!”_

lol

 

_Len and Lisa took off to evacuate stragglers._

Originally, Mark and Clyde were here too, yet I’d already decided that Iris wasn’t partaking in the heist, and if anybody would fight for a part in it, it’d be her.  I figured Len would bench the twins as well because as out of place Mick looks in a lab setting, security would kick the twins out by the time Solnishko entered.  Plus, I didn’t wanna deal with them freaking out over Solnishko in danger and most likely murdering Harrison.  Admittedly, Harrison being the Jiminy Cricket inside Solnishko (or Flash in general) would be interesting, but that’s not the direction I followed for this fic.

 

_“Len named your brother Solnishko,” she explained as a multitude of technicians parted upon their approach, “but this man is the reason his name means ‘sunshine’.”_

Originally, this was gonna be a line from Solnishko to Nora.  I soon realized that Cisco would want an explanation why Starfire is bringing his boss who’s actually Solnishko’s captor with them.  Even more originally, they were bringing Harrison and Solnishko until I realized that not everybody has the Harrison’s trapped memo.  There are plenty of things nobody argues about in STAR Blazers, this should not be one of them.

 

_Der Mann in Gelb laughed like a giant at a vivisected Lilo.  Stitch lay heaving a few feet away, cobalt lightning glimmering within in his bug-like eyes._

This isn’t literally Lilo & Stitch in case that’s not clear.  Obviously, Lilo doesn’t know German and Stitch doesn’t host Blue Lightning.

 

_“Bad move,” Mick folded his arms and scoffed back, holstering his weapon.  Raven’s tension rocketed, praying her ignorance of Solnishko’s psyche meant she was missing something. “You can’t have a Lilo without a Stitch or Lilo will get lonely.”_

_“And you can’t have a Stitch without a Lilo or Stich’ll obliterate everything!” Caitlin scorned him vengefully as cobalt lightning wreathed Stitch’s body._

_Stitch’s floppy ears perked upwards as he leapt forth and sounded der Mann in Gelb’s doom, “_ _[Meega nala kweesta](http://stitchdatabase.wikia.com/wiki/Tantalog_language)_ _!!!”_

_The time-traveling specter stood his ground and plunged his fist towards Stitch’s chest.  Stitch caught it, chomped it, and bounced off it to race around him.  Der Mann in Gelb perished in a cobalt cauldron with a warbling wail._

If der Mann in Gelb “killed” Stitch first, he probably would’ve won, but he went for the easy target.  Granted, focusing on one enemy at a time is my strategy as a gamer who tends to get ambushed by Draugr and bandits, but in this case, it doesn’t pay off because his knowledge of Solnishko’s psyche is outdated.  He doesn’t see the Plush Menagerie representing everybody in Solnishko’s life, he sees a bunch of plushies.  He doesn’t see a bedroom, he sees a trippy soulscape.  He doesn’t see Solnishko’s reason and emotion, he sees a weird little kid and her weirder pet.

Der Mann in Gelb doesn't speak because he doesn't deserve to.  All he's done is hurt people, so why should he have another chance to with his words?

 

_You are my sunshine, my favorite sunshine._

_When you’re around, Cub, no skies are gray._

_If someone asks you how I can love you,_

_run to me, I’ll hug you all day._

I’ve had this in mind since JWYM.  Strangers and some of Saints & Sinners’ first-timers aren’t too kind to one of the owner’s bizarre little brother.  Solnishko knows how abnormal he is, so some days, he feels too weird to love.  Everybody feels unworthy of love at least once in their life whether it’s because they made a mistake or somebody treats them like a mistake or literally anything that can make people hate and doubt themselves.

Everybody, no matter how unique or mundane we are, deserves an ‘ohana: people who love us unconditionally, people who don’t hurt us no matter how mad they are, people who look for us when we go missing, and people who bring us home if we are cold and alone in the dark.  If you have an ‘ohana, tell them you love them, because not everybody does and an ‘ohana is a blessing.  If you don’t have an ‘ohana, they will find you or you will find them eventually.

 

_Summer snarled at them until Lilo assured him, “Der Mann in Gelb’s gone; Stitch obliterated him!”_

Lol

 

_Raven warily eyed up at him, “If a soul dies outside its host, it can never be recovered.”_

This is why der Mann in Gelb couldn’t simply kill Harrison off and why Harrison couldn’t simply kill off der Mann in Gelb.  You can’t kill a soul inside its host, and der Mann in Gelb’s watch ensured that Harrison’s body recognized both souls as its own.  Harrison didn’t have to follow der Mann in Gelb into Solnishko’s body, he chose to do whatever he could to keep his son safe.  If der Mann in Gelb or any of the plushies turned on Harrison, Harrison wouldn’t have been able to protect himself.  I’m tempted to write their reactions to Harrison’s arrival.

 

_A bed as humongous as a fortress loomed before them._

Cuz where else would Solnishko be hiding???

 

_Harrison exhaled his relief, stood up from huddling #FAR Junior protectively against his chest, and spoke to Caitlin and Mick, “I’m so sorry I couldn’t do more for him.”_

The first line a character says can be the most important line they say in an entire series.  On the show, Eobard splits his time between soft-spoken and rampaging.  Harrison strikes me as the former, especially after all he’s been through and watched Solnishko go through.  He’d know shouting freaks Solnishko out after growing up learning yelling = anger, anger = I’m about to get hurt.

 

_#FAR Junior clung to Harrison’s neck like an infant clings to their caregiver._

We all know one’s chronological age in no way signals one’s maturity (any public school will demonstrate this to you if you don't already know this), but with how stressful this day’s been for Solnishko, he desperately yearns for some sort of safety.  He also doesn’t know if Caitlin, Mick, and Raven know about Harrison’s attempt to save him, so he doesn’t want them thinking Harrison’s an accomplice.

 

_“Please, call me Harrison,”_

Der Mann in Gelb insisted on being called Doctor Wells.  Harrison wants to remove himself as far from his captor as possible for both his sake and everybody else’s.

 

_I know your father’s too busy to meet you, but I will never be too busy for you, Sternchern._

Godammit, Henry, you’ve had 14 years to work; take a freakin’ day off already!

Canon!Henry is a fantastic father, his “If I were Flash’s father speech” is phenomenal.  He doesn’t push canon!Barry to save Nora cuz he values the man Barry has become.  That’s a tough choice to make—your partner or your child—and there’s an argument to be made for both.

STAR Blazers!Henry isn’t a bad father, per se.  If you wanna see a bad father in STAR Blazers, look no further than Hall-of-Famer Lewis; Henry’s not even in the minor leagues compared to him.  Henry is a father who’s retreated into his job to mourn Barry’s abduction.

 

_He squeezed #FAR Junior’s paw four times; the latter returned the gesture._

My initial read-through of this fic Gibbs-slapped me for forgetting to depict these guys doing this, so I went back in and added it ASAP.

 

_Harrison then wearily drifted over to the other three and took Raven’s hand._

It’s been a rough day for Harrison, too, and it’s not even close to over yet.

 

_#FAR Junior sniffled as a crucible of shadows consumed them._

I was originally gonna use “crucible of shadows” for a later instalment, then I was like “fuck it, I’m using it here”.

 

_Cisco’s ensuing stammers translated roughly to “WTF!?!”_

Lol

 

_Harrison welled with tears_

This is easily the worst time to pun but the Captain Cold in me can’t resist.

 

_“The day he disappeared was the best day of my life after my wedding....  If he stayed a moment longer, he would’ve died.”_

This could either mean “the best day that occurred after my wedding” or “my wedding is the best day of my life, this is the second-best”.  Either way, it’s up there for Harrison.

 

 _By a weapon I built_ _Cisco miraculously trudged out of the building._

Cisco feels!!!

 

_Batman furiously pounded passwords on a keypad next to an unbreakable bubble.  His other hand was on the glass lookalike separating him from Selina, who had her hands on his._

Selina was originally going to be in the Gideon/future newspaper room, but the artist in me said the Pipeline would make a better visual.  Plus, if Gideon exists in this 'verse and Solnishko made her like in canon, there's no way she'd help Eobard torture and kill her creator, so it'd be in Eobard's best interest to at least disable her.  What would be even smarter would be to not bring her at all, which I what I assume he did, mostly because I like to operate under the assumption that characters are capable of thinking things through instead of running off into the sunset on a whim.  So with no Gideon to hide, the Gideon/future newspaper room doesn't exist anyway.

 

_“ **Seli—** ” Batman’s screech cut off when Selina appeared at his side, frazzled locks and all, “ **na.** ”_

Lol

 

_“ **I know you can, but I don’t care; I never want to part from you again!** ” Batman whimpered._

This line was already here by the time I asked “Why doesn’t Red pick Batman???”  I originally just had Red say he can’t pick Harrison because Harrison’s legs no longer function, and Red can’t pick anybody who already has powers or will be affected by the particle accelerator explosion, so he can’t pick Mick, Caitlin, Cisco, or 99% of the gang, so that leaves Nora and Batman.  Joe, Eddie, and Captain Singh would decline speedster powers because their city is in chaos, Central needs every last member of CCPD.

Also, just because 99% of the gang will become a meta doesn’t mean they’ll get their powers right away.  I didn’t want to deal with their powers right now, mostly because I still haven’t decided if I wanna grant Selina powers or not.  Linda won’t become a meta just like on the show; what I’ve elected to do instead is to give Dr. Light’s powers to Raven’s people, including her mother.  Dr. Light will probably be an exile from Azarath, otherwise, he’s basically Dr. Light from _Teen Titans_.

 

_Henry zeroed in on his efforts to stabilize Iris.  Red bolted into the room and formed a humanoid husk._

Henry failed his spot check. Lol

 

_“My superpower is unconditional love,” Nora halted Red_

Damn.... Go, Nora!

 

_“Henry has vowed to never do harm, and if he ever breaks that vow, he will let you leave immediately.”_

_A casket of lightning possessed no face with which to emote, yet Nora sensed its reluctance, “ **He hasn’t even met Solnishko yet.** ”_

_“I know he hasn’t,” Nora sighed. “You keep Henry for as long as you need to be sure he will uphold his vow.”_

Go, Nora!!  She waited 14 years for Solnishko, she can wait just as long for her husband.  It’s not gonna be 14 years before Henry wakes up, but it’s gonna feel like that with how long it’ll take me to write that fic.  Currently, STAR Blazers has 2 instalments between this and that one, so don’t hold your breath, folks.

 

_Yellow took control of Iris to hug Solnishko.  It sobbed over his shoulder, “ **I missed you so much!!!  We all tried to help you as soon as der Mann in Gelb altered the timeline to hunt you, but Blue was the only one strong enough to reach you before the particle accelerator exploded.  It wouldn’t be fair to kick Blue out now, so I chose Iris this time because she never stopped looking for you.  I hope you never go missing again, but if you do, Iris and I won’t stop running until we find you!** ”_

Yellow feels!!!

_Cue another round of “I’m a fuckup in every timeline” for Cisco.  Caitlin and Lisa rubbed his back, hugged him, and assured him otherwise.  After today’s adrenaline soar-and-crash and emotional bedlam, Cisco understandably didn’t believe them at this moment._

Cisco feels!!!

 

_Yellow shook her heartbroken head, “ **That monster manipulated everything he showed you from the original timeline.  Yes, Lenny shot you, but then he rushed you to STAR Labs as soon as he discovered you were Joe’s nephew.  Yes, you blindly followed your hermano’s ideas of how to deal with Pied Piper, but then you and Cisco realized those ideas were wrong.** ”_

So um, the Lightnings can talk. So sue me.  This was either gonna be delivered by Yellow or Selina.  SOMEBODY needed to address Eobard manipulating everything Solnishko saw from the original timeline, so I nominated the witness to all of Flash’s heroics.

 

_“Wanna know what Pied Piper said to Flash?” nothing but holographic newspapers passed Selina’s time in the Pipeline.  One of them headlined homophobes ganging up on Pied Piper before he vanished in a golden blur.  Flash, Cisco, Caitlin, and Detective Iris West watched over him in STAR Labs’ medical wing even after he healed. “‘I’m not religious, but you plead a good case for the existence of angels because you’ve convinced me I’m not the demon my parents say I am.’”_

_I knew it_ _Hartley mouthed as he, Batman, and Yellow embraced Solnishko._

Awwwwwwww

 

_“Red fought our captor every step of the way, and by the time you were ten, it left.  It couldn’t bring us because humans cannot enter the Speed Force.” Solnishko quirked up at him curiously. “The Speed Force is where the Lightnings live.  Red returned and helped Orange and Green select souls who would never hurt you and would run to aid you if anybody ever did.”_

This is me justifying why Red didn’t bring Harrison and Solnishko to the Speed Force.

Also, awwwww.

Red didn’t need to help Yellow because Yellow called dibs on Iris.

 

_Red quivered, “ **I’m so sorry.  If I was stronger, I would’ve resisted him better.  If I wasn’t so impulsive, I wouldn’t have picked him at all!** ”_

Red feels!!!

 

_It was Red and Harrison’s turn for their eyes to bulge.  Red clasped Solnishko’s arms, “ **I hope you’re never in a bad situation ever again, but you will always have a Valjean because Blue will always be with you.** ”_

_Solnishko exhaled uncertainly, “Blue told me to run....  That was the first thing it said after all this time.”_

_“ **Blue doesn’t know what to say,** ” Red rubbed Solnishko’s shoulder, “ **but know that Blue, Green, Orange, Yellow, and I love you with all of our soul.** ”_

Blue feels!!!

 

**_Two of their families are dead, one might as well be dead, and one is dying._ **

In case anybody’s wondering where Ronnie is, he’s not on STAR Earth, or if he is, he isn’t the head architect of the particle accelerator.  He and his friends will debut in the next instalment.

 

_Later on, Batman urgently fell beside his brother from the ceiling, “ **Jason! We need to repair everybody’s homes by Father’s Day because Solnishko says Red Lightning says Orange Lightning and Green Lightning are coming!** ”_

_With the exasperation only an older sibling can sport, Jason Grayson opened his hands palms out, “Bats! What does that even mean!?!”_

Lol

As the oldest of three, I empathize with Jason.

Jason Grayson has Dick Grayson’s backstory and _Teen Titans_ aesthetics.  The outfit he’s wearing off-duty is his _Trouble in Tokyo_ disguise.  For the benefit of folks who haven’t read Baez’s Tales, I’ve renamed him Jason because it’s almost 2017, folks, you’re not calling someone by their name if you call them Dick.  Plus, saying Jason Grayson out loud amuses me.

 

_“ **....I am unsure,** ” Batman blinked, “ **but it’s important to Solnishko, therefore, it’s important to me!**_

Awwwwwww

 

_She was both relieved and disappointed that her favorite hoodie still fit her after all these years.  She used to be taller than both Jason and Batman, yet now they towered over her. So not fair!_

I used to dwarf 2 of my friends.  Now they’re giants and I’m average. So not fair!

 

_Heaven knew Mark and Clyde were an impulse away from poking penguins cuz YOLO!!!_

Lol

 

_“Solnishko’s not moving out right away, Sparky,” Len reached out to Mick’s shoulder. “And you know he’ll visit; he’s sunshine, and sunshine....”_

_“....Always comes back tomorrow no matter how long it’s gone,” Mick grumbled.  He wasn’t a happy camper, and he never would be—or so he vowed.  Mick was a burnt marshmallow: cracked and crusty on the outside, such a softie on the inside.  Deep down in his mushy heart, he knew Harrison deserved his son as much as Solnishko deserved his window._

Awwwwwww

 

_Harrison looked up from How to Care for Solnishko Rory when he heard him patter into his reclaimed office._

I wanted him reading HtCfSR to be one of the first things he does because that’s how much Solnishko means to him.  He already knows how NOT to care for him.  This, redecorating his office, and moving out of der Mann in Gelb’s penthouse are more manifestation of Harrison’s need to reconnect with his family.

 

He’s a window; windows let you see sunshine!

Okay, so I know this line is cheesy enough to use as a substitute for mac & cheese, but it’s in-character for Solnishko and it’s adorable, dammit!

 

_I’m sorry I don’t call Doctor Allen Vati, but it doesn’t make sense for me to call him Vati cuz I haven’t even met him yet.  First he was too busy working, now he’s too busy sleeping_

Godammit, Henry! Fine! If you won’t leave your job on your own, I’m taking your job away from you.  If anybody would be able to spot a speedster’s hyper heartbeat and high body temperature, it’d be a bunch of doctors, so working in a hospital would be extremely unconducive to keeping his powers a secret.

 

_Nora clasped the widower’s hands, “Would you adopt him if you could?”_

_“In a heartbeat,” Harrison didn’t hesitate to answer, “and I’d only regret stealing him from you.”_

Go, Harrison!

Nora’s asking this question because one of the first things Solnishko said to her is—paraphrased here—“my parents wouldn’t adopt me”, so she needs to hear it from Harrison that he would.

English, as opposed to all 3 of the languages I’ve studied—French, Latin, and German—doesn’t distinguish between you, singular and you, plural unless we include “y’all”, which I do, but Harrison would never say “y’all”, so we’re left with the ambiguity of Harrison maybe meaning “I’d only regret stealing him from you, Nora” or “I’d only regret stealing him from you and Henry”.  Henry hasn’t actively or inactively participated in Solnishko’s life AT ALL since he’s been free, and the kids have been trying to set up a meeting between them since January.  He has present he hasn’t opened; it’s his, but he hasn’t claimed it yet.

 

_Nora happily became acquainted with someone who filled Henry’s vacancy, “You wouldn’t be stealing him from me, Harrison, and you most certainly wouldn’t be stealing him from Henry; as far I’m concerned, he’s yours.”_

Go, Nora!!! I’m never gonna be able to write another mother again because Nora is THE mom, period.

She’s not giving Solnishko up, she’s sharing him.

 

_“ **According to this paperwork, you and Doctor Morgan did adopt him!** ” Batman hopped from the ceiling and handed a batpad over to Harrison.  He’d been assembling this ever since he first suspected der Mann in Gelb was holding Harrison hostage.  Batman operated under the assumption that since Solnishko became liberated, so would Harrison. “ **All you need to decide is whether you two named him Solnishko Rory Morgan-Wells or Solnishko Rory Wells-Morgan.** ”_

Awwwwwww

 

_Harrison ached with joy.  He braced his quaking mouth with his off hand.  Nora slung her arm across his shoulder.  He and Tess flipped a coin when they conceived of their company.  If it landed heads, they’d name it TESS Labs and their child would take his name first.  It landed tails… on this Earth._

Awwwww

Yes, this is foreshadowing.  I call Earth 1/Prime STAR Earth after STAR Labs and Earth 2 TESS Earth after TESS Labs.  From Earth 2's perspective, Earth 1 is Earth 2; and from Earth 1's perspective, Earth 2 is Earth 2.  I wanted to utilize a more objective naming system.

 

_Contemplation stitched Harrison’s pale lips together as he wheeled over to adjust the last photograph depicting him and his wife: Tess pulling him into their wedding kiss because his sweat-fried brain fled the building after exchanging “I do”s.  It neighbored the first photograph depicting him and his son: together at Rooster Road’s chickens crossing sign.  The photos were arranged so that Solnishko stood between Tess and present-day Harrison._

Awwwwwwww

Also, CHICKENS!!! :D :D :D

Lol

 

_He cocked a smirk of his own when he finally answered, “#FAR Junior, Marco, Claudio, Leah da Vinci, Leia da Vinci, Sally Dalí, Robbie the Therapy Plushie, Detective Pawne, Captain Songh, Professor Collin, Collissa, Noire, Detective Joey, Vinnie van Gogh, Summer, Jessie, Jerrie, Molly, Doctor Garrick, Ronald Mallard, Peek-a-Boo, Zvezda, and Zvezdo.”_

The pathetic part is, this isn’t even all of them.  There’s at least 4 left to build.

 

_Eddie fainted._

This was my reaction to listing them all out.

 

_A granola blonde lady exited her truck—she refused to enter a vehicle she could dwarf_

:)

 

_Her mouth remained shut, yet she internally gaped at his answer.  As far as she knew, her stepsister and brother-in-law had never sired a child...._

Tina and Tess are stepsisters.  They’re not genetically related, their parents married when they were teenagers.  In the show, Tina knows Harrison well enough to notice that he became a different person after Eobard stole his identity, so why not?  I imagine that she partnered up with them to build STAR Labs then left to build Mercury Labs when der Mann in Gelb took over STAR Blazers!Harrison.

 

_“Vati didn’t contribute to my DNA, but he’d love me no less if he did,” Solnishko continued, “and if there were any way to ask her, Vati says that’s what Mom would say, too.”_

Awwwwwwww

 

_She didn’t care what slightly illegal DNA testing said, the imposter who stole the name Harrison Wells was not her brother-in-law!  She drove up here today to ascertain if this new creature was._

Lol

She probably stole a hair sample or something after Doctor Wells began behaving out of character.

 

_She grinned, “You should call me Aunt Tina....  Your Vati is right.  If Tess and Harrison bred someone who possessed a mere fraction of your kindness, they’d have done alright.”_

And as we all know, they did! On another Earth :)

 

_Harrison looked up from across the atrium with surprise.  How did his sister-in-law find this place???  He internally shrugged; this was a question for another time._

_Tina stormed towards him hissing, “Harrison Bentley Wells, you’ve always been a PROcrastinator, but how dare you delay introducing me to my nephew!” She hoisted him into a hug, “It’s great to see you—the real you—again.” Harrison wholeheartedly agreed._

Lol

Awwww

Bentley & Bartholomew is a Spyro reference.

 

_“This is Peek-a-Boo,” Solnishko held up a boho-chic one. “Elephants are really really really really really smart animals; Peek-a-Boo’s a really really really really really smart elephant cuz Grammy taught her everything school can’t teach you, and Peek-a-Boo’s gonna be an EMT when she grows up!  She can teleport now, too!”_

Have I mentioned how much I hate Peek-a-Boo as a codename today???  Shawna’s an adult for crying out loud, she needs an adult codename.  However, Peek-a-Boo is a suitable name for a plushie.

 

_Where’s your wine?  I need alcohol._

_And how do you plan on driving home afterwards, Tina?_

_Don’t be dumb, Harrison, I engineered a self-driving truck for a reason._

_Because you wanted to prove you could indeed invent a solar battery which could power such behemoths, and when folks began speculating on self-driving capabilities, you finagled that feature into it and slapped on a “TINA’S KICKASS TRUCK” bumper sticker._

_You know me so well.  Where’s your wine???_

Lol

 

_Harrison soon sensed crazed eyes upon him_

I’m not a parent, but all parents can do this.

 

_A nightmare prodded Solnishko awake, “You and Mick and Cait and Raven died instead of der Mann in Gelb.  He took over my body and murdered our ‘ohana.”_

This nightmare was initially gonna be der Mann in Gelb abusing Solnishko in Harrison’s body, but even I’m not that cruel.  Granted, any sort of nightmare isn’t much better.

 

_Harrison gulped.  Every time he closed his eyes, he revisited der Mann in Gelb hurting his son.  All he could do during those years was watch, and sometimes, he wasn’t even strong enough to do that much; guilt didn’t care that nobody was strong enough to watch somebody they cherish suffer for almost a decade and a half.  He held his son tighter._

Harrison feels!!!

 

_“I wanna fight crime like I did in the original timeline,” Solnishko explained.  Determination skewed towards vengeance as he continued. “Der Mann in Gelb spent fourteen years telling me he’d become a better hero than me, and now I can take away everything he wanted without him being able to do a thing about it!  I’m the fastest, meaning I can help the most.”_

_“....Would you tell someone who’s seven feet tall to become a basketball player?”_

_“No,” Solnishko slumped into Harrison’s arms. “But someone who’s over seven feet tall would be a better basketball player than someone who’s only six feet tall.”_

_“You already are a better hero than him, Sternchen,” they locked tear-swamped gazes. “You enfold orphans into your ‘ohana; that is one of the most heroic things you can do.  There are other ways you can help out, and those ways are just as valid as fighting crime yourself.  I hope you never fight another supervillain again, because the one you did was enough for eternity.”_

_“ **And if a supervillain ever picks a fight with you, I will keep you safe,** ” cobalt flickered within Solnishko’s eyes._

_“Blue???” Solnishko and Harrison gasped._

_“ **It’s not that we don’t think you could fight crime if you had to, there’s simply no reason for you to.  Your ‘ohana is larger and stronger than an army, and armies need noncombatants, too.  We love you.  We don’t want you running into danger after so many years of seeing you drowning in it....  I am so sorry I couldn’t free either of you, but I was tired all the time just keeping Solnishko alive.** ”_

_“You did your best, Blue, that’s all you can ask of yourself,” Harrison thumbed Solnishko’s cheek._

_“Ditto, Blue,” said Solnishko.  His head rolled up toward Harrison’s._

This was gonna be in a later instalment when everybody had actually begun heroing and continuously benching Solnishko, but again, I said “fuck patience” and put it in this one.  I also wanted Blue to speak to Solnishko.

 

This is HFE signing off on another STAR Blazers commentary.  I can’t wait to start writing the next instalment :D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> C  
> O  
> Double M  
> E  
> N  
> T  
> A  
> R  
> Y  
> What's that spell??? Commentary!!!  
> *cue confetti*


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